Ski motion simulating training device

ABSTRACT

A device is described which simulates the reaction of skis in snow when a user executes thereon the proper skiing motions involved in the wedeln style of skiing, to thereby enable the user to perfect his wedeln form as well as to condition the muscles necessary for proper and easy execution of this skiing style. The device includes a low platform mounted on three bearing elements arranged in a triangle, with the configuration, dimensions, etc., of these elements and the platform such that unweighting, torsional, and angulating movement of the user standing on the platform result in a reaction of the platform simulating that of the skis in snow.

llite tats 11 z: 1 [111 3,787,047 Brawn Jan. 22, 1974 [54] SKI MOTION SIMULATING TRAINING 2,311,274 2/1943 Whitney 272/57 A DEVIQE FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [76] Inventor: Darrell S. Brawn, 18,849 Flam g 448,838 4/1968 Switzerland 272/57 A Livonia, Mich. 48152 [22] F Get 5 1971 I Primary ExaminerAnton O. Oechsle Assistant Examiner-R1chard J. Apley PP NOJ 189,519 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-John R. Benefiel [52] US. Cl. 272/57 18, 272/57 A, 280/8704 R [57] ABSTRACT A device is described simulates the reaction of Fleld of Search 272/57 R, 57 57 B; skis in snow when a user executes thereon the proper 128/25 A; filo/8750143704 R, skiing motions involved in the wedeln style of skiing, 87-01T87-04 A to thereby enable the user to perfect his wedeln form as well as to condition the muscles necessary for References ,Clled proper and easy execution of this skiing style. The de- UNITED STATES PATENTS vice includes a low platform mounted on three bearing 3,612,520 10/1971 Chang 272/57 B elements arranged in a triangle, with the Configura- 3,713,653 1/1973 Romans.. 272/57 A X tion, dimensions, etc., of these elements and the plat- 3,567,242 3/1971 Miller 1 .1 272/57 A UX form such that unweighting, torsional, and angulating ,320 3/1967 Hanna et al. 4 2 2/57 A X movement of the user standing on the platform result 3,575,412 4/1971 Arsenia" 272/57 3 in a reaction of the platform simulating that of the skis 0214,252 5/1969 Andersen.... 280 8704 R in Snow 1,467,453 9/1923 Remacle 1 280/8704 R 1,686,423 10/1928 Thomson 272/57 A 8 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures O/tlt [Ga I x "18 1: :l: C j) PATENTEBJAN22 I974 INVENTOR.

B 40mm 5. @mwn/ 1 SKI MOTION SIMULATING TRAINING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention concerns sports training devices and more particularly a training device which simulates the reaction of skis in snow upon execution by a use of body motions proper for the wedeln skiing form to allow practice by the use of the wedeln snow skiing style.

2. Description of the Prior Art Snow skiing is typically engaged in by persons who have relatively little opportunity for the extensive practice of the various facets of skiing form, since the season is short, ski areas are usually remote from urban locations, and the actual amount of time spent descending the slopes is surprisingly meager.

Therefore, such advanced styles as wedeln are difficult for the average skier to perfect, particularly as properly executed, with angulation used to effectively control the downhill speed of the skier.

ln wedeln, a complex series of motions are executed over and over in rhythmic fashion. These motions involve an initial unweighting of the skis in which the body weight borne by the skis is effectively reduced and shifted from a condition in which it is more or less evenly distributed front and rear over the length of the skis to a condition in which the rear of the skis are unweighted" and the remaining weight is borne by a localized region near or forward the ball of the skiers feet. This unweighting, which is generally accomplished by an upward springing motion, involving bending of the knees, produces a total ski weight loading decrease, which in turn creates a greatly lessened resistance of the skis to lateral motion, since a pivot point near the ball of the skiers feet is approximated and the lateral edges of the skis have a greatly reduced tendency to edge or dig in.

At the same time the skis are unweighted, this lessened resistance is taken advantage of and a torsional movement about the pivot point so created is impressed on the skis by a turning motion of the skiers lower torso.

Subsequently, the skis are turned downwardly or angulated along the edge of the outboard ski to create a controlled edging of skis, providing an effective control of the downhill speed of the skier with a minimum of lateral travel.

This movement is repeated with torsional movement in the opposite direction and so on over and over in a very rhythmic fashion to produce the characteristic wedeln motion of the skier, who is thus able to negotiate the steepest of descents.

, This skiing style calls for a. good deal of coordination, timing, rhythm, not to mention conditioning of the muscles involved, which requisites come only with extensive practice,- more practice than the aforementioned typical skier is likely to be able to undertake if he must actually be skiing to do so.

It is for this reason that a training device, if truly effective, would be highly desirable in developing such an advanced form, but heretofore. the only such devices brought forth attempts to constrain motion of the user to something approximating that undergone during skiing, and this approach has resulted in large and complex devices which only imperfectly simulate the true motion, and which do little to develop the skill of the user to perform the entire sequence of motions involved in this particular skiing style.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a training device in which proper body motions of the user result in reaction motion of the device closely resembling the actual motion of the skis in snow and which training device is extremely simple and relatively small in size.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This object and others which will become apparent upon a reading of the following specification and claims is accomplished by providing a low platform supported by'three point bearing means, with the platform size'and configuration and-the spacing of the bearing means such that a user standing on the platform undergoing proper body motions for the wedeln form creates a reaction motion in the platform corresponding to the response of the skis in snow.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of the training device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view of the section taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following detailed description certain specific terminology will be utilized and-a specific embodiment described for the sake of clarity, but it should be understood that the invention is not so limited, as a great variety of forms and equivalents may be utilized.

Referring to the drawings, the training device 10 is depicted, and includes a platform 12, which can be formed of any material suitable for supporting the weight of a user and reasonable in weight and cost, such as plywood, plastic, laminated, etc.

Secured to the lower surface 13 of platform 12 are three sets of bearing means 14, l6, 18 which are de picted in FIG. 2 as ball casters of a type widely used for furniture supports and which allow rolling movement in any direction in the plane formed by the three bearing means l4, l6, 18.

The bearing means 14, 16,18 are arranged in a triangle as depicted in FIG. 1 with the upper bearing means 14 spaced a distance d from the two lower bearing means 16 and 18, which in turn are spaced apart a distance w to form an apex angle 0, the specific values of which are critical to proper response of the device as will hereinafter be discussed in regard to the operation of the device.

In addition, overhangs at the front and rear of approximately 3% inches are provided, which at a platform height near 1% inches willeffectively tend to prevent spills resulting from movement of the platform 12 from under the user as either the leading or trailing edge will dig in to arrest further rolling movement before the platform 12 has moved too far from under the users center of gravity, to enable him to easily regain his balance.

Affixed to the upper surface. 15 of the platform is a center strip 20 for the purpose of supplying a drive surface for the user, to enable him to more readily impart torsional motion to the platform. Additionally, grooving or friction material (not shown) could be applied to the platform upper surface 13 to improve the frictional contact between the user's feet, boots, or shoes and the platform 12.

The platform 12 is also formed with its upper corners, 22 and 24, scarfed with a radius R to provide clearance for these corners when the platform 12 is tipped forward in simulating angulating as will be discussed infra in further detail.

A marking line 26 may be provided on the upper surface l5 to indicate to the user the stability zone, to enable him to locate his feet on the platform 12 without inadvertent tipping movement thereof.

Due to the triangular arrangement of bearing means 14, 16, 18, when a user stands on the platform with his center of gravity passing through the stability triangle, this results in distribution of his weight more or less evenly between the front bearing means 14 and the two rear bearing means 16 and 18, depending on his exact position within the triangle. When this platform is resting on a relatively resilient surface 28 as depicted in FIG. 2, such as medium texture carpeting, the bearing means l4, l6, and 18 sink into the surface 28 and considerable resistance to rolling movement thereof is created, as the surface 28 material must be compressed ahead of the bearing means ball as it rolls. This resistance for a 1% inch ball caster serves to simulate the resistance of weighted skis in snow when disposed on resilient surfaces such as medium texture carpeting, and thus prevent torsional movements as long as the body weight is borne in significant proportions by the rear bearing means 16 and 18. I

Upon unweighting of the platform and particularly of the rear bearing elements 16, 18 by springing movement of the body, the tendency of the bearing elements 14, 16, 18 to sink into the surface 28 is greatly reduced. This motion similarly causes a pivot point at the front bearing means 14 to be created, with the resistance of the rear bearing means 16 and 18 to rolling movement vastly reduced since they no longer must compress the surface material significantly in order to move.

Thus, at the moment the rear of the platform is unweighted, the user by imposing a moment is able to cause the platform to rotate about the front bearing means 14 in a manner closely simulating the response of the skis at the moment they are unweighted.

Synchronized shifting of the body weight by movement of the knees forward and to the side in the opposite direction as the torsional movement moves its center of gravity out of the stability zone causes tipping, or angulation," of the platform 12 forwardly and in the opposite direction as the torsional movement. This tipping movement, it has been found, for a spacing d of 9 inches and an apex angle of approximately 40, occurs with a shifting of body weight very closely corresponding to that necessary to angulate the skis during the wedeln motion, with this correspondence growing less and less as these dimensions are varied; thus, at an outer range of i3 inches of the dimension d and t20 of the angle 0, the action can be said to no longer closely resemble the wedeln motion for the average user to be useful as a training device for perfecting the wedeln motion itself, although some value as a body toner would still remain.

It should also be appreciated that the position of the user on the platform 12 controls to some extent the response of the platform 12 to such angulating movements, as the farther back the user stands the more extreme his weight transfer must be to cause the tipping LII of the platform 12 as the distance his center of gravity must move to the side is greater. This allows simple adjustment by various users to compensate for differences in body weight and height, which will affect the response of the platform 12, so that the device will respond properly for the particular user.

This also will allow for simulation of varying snow conditions, as the skis will respond somewhat differently with rough or easy snow conditions.

The extent of tipping movement of the platform 12 is controlled by the scarfed corners 22 and 24, one of which comes into contact with the surface 28 upon predetermined extent of tipping movement, and is selected to be that corresponding to that of the skis in a typical situation, and this was attained in the example given by a 3 inch radius scarf, on a center 1% inches from the end of the platform 12.

It has been found that providing initial contact points 30 at the scarfed corner provides a gradual deceleration of the. platform during angulation as contrasted with an area contact with which rather rapid deceleration thereof would be causedIThus, the sharp points 30 allow a more controlled angulation by the user and allows him to more easily develop the rhythmic an gulation.

In addition, the dimensions of the platform, location of the contact points, and the sizing of the stability triangle" are selected to provide an angulation angle resembling the proper edging motion, which has been found to be approximately 6 to 10.

Upon movement of the users body center of gravity back within the stability triangle the platform 12 rights itself. The user then unweights the platform again, rotates the platform 12 in the other direction and again shifts the body weight in the proper wedeln form in the opposite direction to provide simulated angulation" in the opposite direction to complete the cycle.

This cycle is repeated over and over in characteristic wedeln fashion.

Thus, the user may develop the aforementioned wedeln form, as well as conditioning and developing the muscles necessary for proper execution thereof, without the need for actually engaging in skiing, allowing intensive practice both before and during the short ski season to allow the user to easily master this relatively sophisticated skiing style.

In addition, this device also may be used to practice other facets of skiing technique, such as down unweighting," counter rotation, availment, etc., inasmuch as the device will respond as will skis for other motions than those utilized in wedeln.

The individual facets of the wedeln motion alone, such as torsion, unweighting, etc., may also be practiced.

Furthermore, while the device will have its chief value as a training device for perfecting skiing techniques, the challenge to the user, its value in improving general body tone, coordination, etc., would also prove to be attractive even to the non-skier.

What is claimed is: I

l. A ski training device comprising:

a. a platform adapted for a user to stand on comprising a top surface, an under surface, side surfaces, and front and rear end surfaces;

b. support means for said platform consisting of three bearing means mounted on said under surface of said platform at a first predetermined distance therebelow in a triangular arrangement forming an imaginary stability triangle for the user whereby the user is stable on said platform when his feet are positioned along the sides .of said stability triangle, two of said bearing means located at second and third predetermined distances form said rear end surface and said side surfaces respectively and forming the base of said triangular arrangement, the other of said bearing means located at a fourth predetermined distance from said two of said bearing means and forming the apex of said triangular arrangement with a predetermined apex angle, said other of said bearing means being spaced inwardly from said side surfaces and said front end surface at fifth and sixth predetermined distances respectively each of said bearing means allowing rolling movement of said platform on a support surface, and further allowing pivoting movement of said platform caused by tipping of said platform about the bearing means; and I i overhang means comprised of a portion of said ing of said two of said bearing means by the user initially shifting his weight toward said forward end and body rotation and simultaneous angulation of said platform by further shifting of the users body weight forward and to thesides to cause said tipping about said other of said bearing means.

2. The device of claim Iwherein said platform is generally rectangular and dimensioned to limit said tipping movement along each of said two of said bearing means and said other of said bearing means to 10 degrees or less by contact of said overhang means with the supporting surface.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said contact points are scarfed to provide a sharp contactpoint upon tipping motion of said platform.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein said fourth predetermined distance is from 6 'to- 12 inches and wherein said apex angle is from 20 degrees to 60 degrees.

5. The training device of claim 4 wherein said apex argl isapproximately 10 degrees.

6. The device of claim 4 wherein said fourth predetermihed distance is approximately 9 inches.

7. The device of Clairn l whereinsaid platform is supported substantially 1-3/8 inches above the surface on which it is disposed by said bearing.

8. The device of Claim 7 wherein said two of said three point bearing means comprise ball-bearing elements. 

1. A ski training device comprising: a. a platform adapted for a user to stand on comprising a top surface, an under surface, side surfaces, and front and rear end surfaces; b. support means for said platform consisting of three bearing means mounted on said under surface of said platform at a first predetermined distance therebelow in a triangular arrangement forming an imaginary stability triangle for the user whereby the user is stable on said platform when his feet are positioned along the sides of said stability triangle, two of said bearing means located at second and third predetermined distances form said rear end surface and said side surfaces respectively and forming the base of said triangular arrangement, the other of said bearing means located at a fourth predetermined distance from said two of said bearing means and forming the apex of said triangular arrangement with a predetermined apex angle, said other of said bearing means being spaced inwardly from said side surfaces and said front end surface at fifth and sixth predetermined distances respectively each of said bearing means allowing rolling movement of said platform on a support surface, and further allowing pivoting movement of said platform caused by tipping of said platform about the bearing means; and c. overhang means comprised of a portion of said platform on either side of said other of said bearing means formed by said fifth and sixth predetermined distances and Including contact points on at least said side surfaces for limiting the extent of said tipping movement, said overhang means being of sufficient area and coupled with said first through fourth predetermined distances and said apex angle to enable a user to simulate rotation by unweighting of said two of said bearing means by the user initially shifting his weight toward said forward end and body rotation and simultaneous angulation of said platform by further shifting of the user''s body weight forward and to the sides to cause said tipping about said other of said bearing means.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein said platform is generally rectangular and dimensioned to limit said tipping movement along each of said two of said bearing means and said other of said bearing means to 10 degrees or less by contact of said overhang means with the supporting surface.
 3. The device of claim 2 wherein said contact points are scarfed to provide a sharp contact point upon tipping motion of said platform.
 4. The device of claim 3 wherein said fourth predetermined distance is from 6 to 12 inches and wherein said apex angle is from 20 degrees to 60 degrees.
 5. The training device of claim 4 wherein said apex angle is approximately 40 degrees.
 6. The device of claim 4 wherein said fourth predetermined distance is approximately 9 inches.
 7. The device of Claim 1 wherein said platform is supported substantially 1-3/8 inches above the surface on which it is disposed by said bearing.
 8. The device of Claim 7 wherein said two of said three point bearing means comprise ball bearing elements. 